Action Step of the Week: Monitor the Do Now
The routines may have started, but we need a little more refinement.
Resources Related to the do now or bellwork:
Feedback Actions and Templates (Gap analysis)
Assign Do Now Coaching Conversation
Action Step of the Week
Every time you begin your “do now,” monitor student completion.
Finish taking attendance
Move around the room actively
Narrate students completing the task and specific things observed from their work
Why?
Monitoring the completion of the do now is important for several key reasons:
1. Ensures student engagement: Teachers can verify that students actively participate and engage with the material from the start of class, setting the tone.
2. Provides accountability: When students know their do now will be monitored, they are more likely to take it seriously and put in effort.
3. Allows for timely feedback: Monitoring bellwork completion enables teachers to provide prompt feedback on student work. This immediate feedback helps reinforce correct understanding or address misconceptions early on.
4. Informs instruction: By reviewing do now responses, teachers can quickly assess student understanding of previous material or readiness for new concepts.
5. Supports classroom management: The routine of completing and checking bellwork helps establish a smooth start to class, reducing distractions and off-task behavior.
6. Identifies struggling students: Regular monitoring allows teachers to quickly identify students who may be having difficulty with the material or failing to engage, enabling timely intervention.
Potential Evidence
Class starts off rough; it takes a long time to get class started.
A small portion of the students complete the do now task.
The do now takes too long.
Questions to ask yourself
How long does it take for the class to get started?
Is there a materials management issue holding the group back from successfully completing the do now?
What routines have already been established at the start of the class?
What materials do students need to be successful in this class? How can they get those materials at the start of class?
What percent of the class should be devoted to review and to the do now routine?
Does the do now routine change from day to day? Do I have enough evidence to unpack a pattern?
Glossary of Terms
A “Do Now” goes by many names but the activities are the same. However, some subtle differences in terms and routines are important to recognize.
Do Now/ Bell Work/ Warm-Up Activity/Entry Task/Starter: A short activity or task assigned at the beginning of a class to engage students and focus their attention, most likely a review of previous content.
Warm Welcome: Greeting each student personally by name, expressing genuine interest in their well-being, and creating an inviting and inclusive atmosphere as they enter the classroom. This could be part of the Do Now routine.
Quick Write: A short writing task assigned at the beginning of class to encourage critical thinking and reflection.
Icebreaker: An activity or game used to help students get to know each other or build rapport at the start of a new term or class.
Lesson Opening/Hook: A way to introduce and capture the attention of the students in the lesson from the beginning.
Kick-Off Activity: An initial task or prompt that launches the lesson and gets students actively involved immediately.
Daily Opener: A routine activity is done at the start of each class to set expectations and focus students on learning.
Coaching Conversation Template
How to use it:
Find any bracketed text.
Fill this in BEFORE you meet with the teacher. You will look silly and I would feel sad. Only use ONE of the evidence examples.
Be you! You can do it. The best coaches are planned coaches.
Praise/Follow Up on Previous Action Steps
I appreciate the opportunity to sit down with you to discuss my observation.
First, I want to follow up on <previous action step or feedback>. Tell me more about how this is going for you. What impact has this had on you and your students?
Today, I saw <positive evidence of specific teacher action>.
What impact does this move have on you and your students?
Evidence
Today, I saw you use a shared text with your classroom and I want to discuss ways to refine your approach.
<rough start> (i.e. At 12:00 pm, the bell rang and you had 15 out of 23 students in their seats. Five of those students were working on the do now. So we have the first step towards creating a strong start to the class. We are now going to take the next step by focusing on monitoring that do now. How does that sound?)
<few complete the do now> (i.e. The bell rang at 12:00 pm. At 12:05 pm, you had 9 out of 23 students working on the do now. 3 had already finished. The rest hadn’t started yet. What does this evidence suggest about our action?)
<do now too long> (i.e. The bell rang at 12:00 pm. At 12:05 pm, you asked to see how many students still needed more time. Eight students raised their hands and you gave them an extra three minutes to complete the task. After reviewing the do now, you started your core content at 12:17 pm. We know this is too long. The question is: what could solve this problem? I want to challenge you to think about your actions in these first few minutes differently by focusing your energy on monitoring. Does that resonate?)
Action Step
Great, so here is your action step: Every time you begin your “do now,” monitor student completion.
Finish taking attendance
Move around the room actively
Narrate students completing the task and specific things observed from their work
What impact will this have on you and your classroom?
Go ahead and write down the action step.
Plan/Practice
Let me show you what this looks like with the lesson that I observed.
MODEL
First, I want you to notice where I am standing during the first part of this routine. I am in the entryway so I can see both the hallway and the class. I can even narrate positively from the door in between greeting students as they enter.
Ok. Bell rings. I am moving to take attendance. “Okay, class, you know the routine. You have 3 more minutes to complete your do now. I will be around to check your progress and the timer is going.”
I’m going to go over and take attendance now.
Now, I am getting up to monitor around the room.
“I’m looking for who has answered our do now question which is <task/question from observed lesson>. I see <student name> has already written <academic expectations>. <Student name> has <academic expectations>. I look around this room and I see 100% of students working on their do now. Nicely done.”
What did you see in my model in our action step?
PLAN
Let’s practice this for tomorrow. Go ahead and find your do now for tomorrow. Think about what you might be looking for as you actively walk around. This will help you with your narration.
PRACTICE
Now, let’s practice execution. I’ll play the students. The bell just rang. Go!
Look for:
Body language and tone
Directions are clear, concise
Monitoring focuses on academics, not just compliance
Clear on what students should complete
Do now is clear and aligned
Moves across all parts of the room
What impact will monitoring the do now have on your classroom?
Closing/Follow Up
Thanks for playing along. I know practice can be awkward, but it is a great way to ensure we can work out all the kinks.
Let’s review the action step.
To follow up, I would love to see this in action and so we can work out all of the kinks. The do now can be hard to master. I look forward to seeing you in action <date>.